Next book

PIG LITTLE

Deceptively simple poems and warmly realistic watercolor illustrations evoke the highly imaginative world of a child’s often poignant and occasionally amusing discoveries. A series of free-verse poems follows Pig Little and his family from their cozy home to the beach where Pig Little wanders off to enjoy his own series of seaside adventures, which children will find pleasingly familiar. At noon, hungry Pig Little discovers that his lunch is “more SAND / than / WICH.” As the day wears on and the sun descends, he finds himself hoping that the ocean won’t douse its fire. Back at home, Pig Little realizes that he has not really left the beach. After all, he’s still got a treasure trove of shells, some sand from his cap and the sun’s warmth lingering in his skin. An accessible work that welcomes children to the world of free-verse poetry as it invites them to delight in the day at the beach it renders so artfully. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)

Pub Date: June 1, 2006

ISBN: 0-8050-6977-1

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2006

Categories:
Next book

ALL THE COLORS OF THE EARTH

This heavily earnest celebration of multi-ethnicity combines full-bleed paintings of smiling children, viewed through a golden haze dancing, playing, planting seedlings, and the like, with a hyperbolic, disconnected text—``Dark as leopard spots, light as sand,/Children buzz with laughter that kisses our land...''— printed in wavy lines. Literal-minded readers may have trouble with the author's premise, that ``Children come in all the colors of the earth and sky and sea'' (green? blue?), and most of the children here, though of diverse and mixed racial ancestry, wear shorts and T-shirts and seem to be about the same age. Hamanaka has chosen a worthy theme, but she develops it without the humor or imagination that animates her Screen of Frogs (1993). (Picture book. 5-7)

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-688-11131-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994

Categories:
Next book

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAB

Girl science power and new friendships make for a good combination.

In Fliess’ update, Mary is an inventive scientist, but she’s a lonely one.

“Mary had a little lab. / She tested and created. / While other kids were at the park, / she built and calculated.” The window of her lab provides views of the kids’ fun, and they inspire her to make a friend. Literally. She bikes to a farm for a snip of wool and heads back to use her latest invention: the Sheepinator. The resultant pet is everything she could hope for, not only providing companionship, but also helping out around the house and lab. And when he follows her to school, the kids all ask for their own wooly friends. What could possibly go wrong? Bouloubasis’ hysterical illustrations show the chaos that ensues, but the scientist and her new human friends think of a clever solution that leaves the whole town satisfied…and warm. Fliess’ verses include enough of the original poem (but tweaked) to tickle readers’ funny bones, and the rhyme and rhythm are spot-on. Mary is a wild-haired white redhead who is depicted as safety-conscious (bike helmet, ear protection, rubber gloves, etc.); the other kids are a diverse group. Most diverse (and somewhat distracting) of all are the noses on their faces—all sizes, shapes, and colors.

Girl science power and new friendships make for a good combination. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: March 1, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-8075-4982-7

Page Count: 37

Publisher: Whitman

Review Posted Online: Jan. 21, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

Close Quickview